Cabinet - Tuesday, 28th June, 2016 7.00 pm - Agenda and minutes

To confirm the Minutes of the Meeting held on 31st May, 2016 (copy attached).

The Minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 31st May, 2016 were confirmed and signed by the Chairman.

To consider the Head of Environmental Health and Housing’s Report No. EHH1607 (copy attached), which sets out a proposal relating to facilities to be offered to street homeless single people with drug and alcohol support needs in the Borough.

The Cabinet considered the Head of Environmental Health and Housing’s Report No. EHH1607, which set out a proposal to use an empty, former barrack building on the Wellesley site in Aldershot to provide accommodation for rough sleepers. The Leader of the Council welcomed Trevor Pickup, Tony Keall and Simone Gleed, from the Society of St. James Housing Association, to the meeting.

Members were informed that the proposed project would provide specialist housing and intervention for rough sleepers with drug, alcohol and mental health issues. The accommodation would provide nine bed spaces for a three-year period. The specialist support would be provided by the Society of St. James Housing Association, which had experience of running similar projects elsewhere in Hampshire. The project had received interest and funding offers from nine partners, including the Grainger Trust, the Society of St James, the NHS Surrey and Borders Partnership (Mental Health), the NHS Inclusion Team and Hampshire County Council. In total, project backing from partners would equate to £108,000. The Society of St James would manage the hostel and the Council would have full nomination rights. This model would comply with the Department for Work and Pensions’ definition of Exempt Specified Accommodation, which would mean that hostel tenants would be able to claim Housing Benefit instead of Universal Credit and this would be paid directly to the Society of St. James to cover staffing and management costs. It was confirmed that there was no requirement for the Council to provide any funding for the day-to-day running of the hostel. The Council would, however, be required to cover the annual rent and insurance costs of £2,200 per annum and a further £2,600 in the first year to cover the contribution to the Strategic Access Management and Monitoring Measures relating to the Special Protection Area. It was confirmed that these costs would be covered through the contribution from Hampshire County Council. A one off capital investment of £20,000 by the Council would be required to cover the costs of building materials.

The Cabinet expressed strong support for the project and considered that this would provide great assistance to the problem with rough sleepers, particularly in Aldershot. Members sought assurance that adequate facilities and support would be available to hostel residents once they were ready to move on from the hostel.

The Cabinet RESOLVED that

(i)           approval be given to seek planning permission for a change of use for the building;

(ii)          a variation to the Capital Programme of £20,000 in 2016/17 be approved; and

(iii)         a Supplementary Estimate of £34,700 in 2016/17, to reflect costs as set out in the Head of Environmental Health and Housing’s Report No. EHH1607, for which the Council had already secured grant funding, be approved.

To consider the Head of Financial Services’ Report No. FIN1613 (copy attached), which sets out details of the main treasury management operations in 2015/16.

The Cabinet received the Head of Financial Services’ Report No. FIN1613, which set out the main treasury management activities during 2015/16 and provided an update on the current economic conditions affecting treasury management decisions. The Report set out the actual prudential indicators relating to capital financing and treasury activities for 2015/16 and compared these to the indicators set in the Annual Treasury Management Strategy for the year, which had been approved by the Council on 26th February, 2015.

The Cabinet NOTED the Head of Financial Services’ Report No. FIN1613 in relation to the treasury management activities which had been carried out during 2015/16.

To consider the Solicitor to the Council’s Report No. LEG1607 (copy attached), which seeks approval to vary the 2016/17 Capital Programme to allow for the provision of a lift at the Farnborough Leisure Centre.

The Cabinet considered the Solicitor to the Council’s Report No. LEG1607, which sought approval to vary the 2016/17 Capital Programme to permit urgent works to the main lift at Farnborough Leisure Centre, following the commissioning of a lift consultant’s report.

The Cabinet was informed that the existing lift was around 30 years old and had become increasingly unreliable. It was, currently, out of service and the lift maintenance company employed by the leisure centre operator had advised that repair of the lift had become uneconomic. Whilst there was a second lift elsewhere in the building, this main lift was the sole means of access to the gymnasium for wheelchair users and those with impaired mobility. An independent lift consultant had reported that, contrary to the opinion of the lift maintenance company, it was feasible to repair and upgrade the existing lift, to extend its life by an estimated five to ten years. It was recommended that the repair of the existing lift was the most cost effective option available to the Council.

The Cabinet RESOLVED that approval be given to a variation to the 2016/17 Capital Programme of £54,000 to enable the procurement of the repair and upgrade of the existing lift, as set out in the Solicitor to the Council’s Report No. LEG1607.

To consider the Head of Planning’s Report No. PLN1621 (copy attached), which provides a summary of the content and issues that have been identified with Guildford Borough Council’s Draft Local Plan, with regard to its potential impact on Rushmoor.

The Cabinet considered the Head of Planning's Report No. PLN1621, which sought agreement to submit comments on Guildford Borough Council’s Proposed Submission Local Plan: Strategy and Sites document, which was open to consultation until 18th July, 2016. The Cabinet was reminded that the Council had submitted comments on the draft Guildford Local Plan previously in September 2014.

The Report set out the context of this consultation in terms of National Planning Policy and explained how Hart, Rushmoor and Surrey Heath Councils together formed a Housing Market Area. It was explained that Guildford, Waverley and Woking Councils were working together in a similar way. It was noted that 89% of Guildford Borough fell within the Metropolitan Green Belt. It was predicted in the document that Guildford would meet its objectively assessed housing need within its administrative area. The document also expressed a commitment to preserving the gap between Aldershot and the Ash and Tongham urban area.

The Cabinet discussed several elements of the consultation, including the extent of development proposed for the Ash and Tongham areas and the importance of ensuring that infrastructure was improved sufficiently to cope with the increase in the local population.

The Cabinet RESOLVED that the Council make representations on the Guildford Borough Proposed Submission Local Plan: Strategy and Sites consultation document, based on the comments set out in the Head of Planning’s Report No. PLN1621.

To consider the Head of Democratic and Customer Services’ Report No. DCS1604 (copy attached), which sets out a proposal to license software to provide an end to end system for managing meetings.

The Cabinet considered the Head of Democratic and Customer Services’ Report No. DCS1604, which sought approval to license software which would provide an end to end system for managing meetings. The system would be primarily used to manage Member meetings but would also have a range of other applications, such as managing corporate groups and decision and report management.

The Report explained how the proposed system was already used by many other local authorities and contained a list of benefits to the Council, including moving towards a more paperless method of manging the Council’s decision making process. If approved, installation would be carried out over the Summer 2016.

The Cabinet expressed support for the move towards a more paperless system and considered that the costs involved were justified.  

The Cabinet RESOLVED that

(i)          the introduction of a meetings and decisions management system be approved, subject to the necessary procurement arrangements being completed; and

(ii)          a variation to the Capital Programme of £15,000 for the cost of the project in the first year and the inclusion of the revenue costs in the budget from the second year onwards, to be agreed by the Head of Democratic and Customer Services, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Corporate Services and the Head of Financial Services, be approved.

To consider the Head of Democratic and Customer Services’ Report No. DCS1603 (copy attached), which sets out a proposal to make adjustments to the Cabinet portfolios which have been agreed by the Leader of the Council.

The Cabinet received the Head of Democratic and Customer Services’ Report No. DCS1603, which provided the results of a review of the Cabinet portfolios, taking account of the comparative workloads. 

The Report explained that the review had been carried out at the request of the Leader of the Council. The review had shown that responsibilities had evolved over time and as a result of this, the Leader of the Council and Deputy Leader had made changes to the responsibilities within portfolios that would provide a fairer workload for Cabinet Members. The changes were set in an appendix to the Report. It was noted that the Cabinet had made an undertaking to re-assess the Council’s priorities and, once this had been completed, it was likely that a further review of the Cabinet portfolios would be carried out.

The Cabinet NOTED and ENDORSED the action taken in making changes to the Cabinet portfolios for 2016/17, as set out in the Head of Democratic and Customer Services’ Report No. DCS1603.